Good deal on a Tacoma, but it has been in accident?

Found this Tacoma.
It’s been in a front end accident where the guys wife (was drunk) hit black ice and hit a guard rail. He obviously tried to piece together the truck (poorly) but is letting it go for one heck of a price. The TRUCK IS MISSING THE SUBASSEMBLEY TO THE BUMPER AND THE CROSSBAR, he has the new one but that’s been what I was trying to show in the pictures I posted.


The truck drove straight but had a check engine light (apparently due to the LED’s he installed in the dome light but idk) he spoke Spanish so his English was pretty broken and difficult to understand.

What you guys think?
https://youngstown.craigslist.org/cto/6310312604.html

Only things that had me worried is that the truck could potentially have frame damage, that the CEL is for something more severe than the dome lights and that for some reason his brakes seemed terrible (maybe this is just how Tacoma’s are) but they were wicked soft and the time to stop was horrendous.

 

That was my thought as well. I have been waiting for a response from the guy to get the code but he’s yet to respond

 

I don't buy that the CEL is from an LED dome light. I'd toss a code reader on it to see what it says. Brakes sound worse than they should be, I've never thought mine were much different than the average vehicle. That one would probably be a relatively easy fix though.

 

12k is too much for what that truck has been through and not to mention what else might be wrong with the truck. If you can take the truck again or get a good friend to test drive it, meet him at your favorite auto parts supplier (AutoZone, O'Reilly, etc) and hook a code reader up to it.

 

My $.02 is that you're trying to justify this truck for yourself, but in reality you know that you'd be buying an iffy truck with a questionable past and a boatload of excuses from the current owner. Balance what you'd pay for this, plus a few grand for chasing down the issues and fixing stuff, then decide if that sum total would just be better spent on a truck with a cleaner past. And don't forget there may very well be other little surprises waiting for you with this truck, too – you don't know what you don't know.

 

Pass unless you like gambling. Lots of unknowns.

 

I would also pass. I believe BuddyS is 100% correct. You are much better off paying a few thousand more for a truck that is in better shape.

 

I’d offer $1..... he’s a bad hombre

 

I have an 07 and put led's in all the interior and have no CEL had them over a year now and I'm pretty sure a few others here have not had any problems with their's either

 

The frame is definitely bent where the bumper reinforcement bolts on. Waaaaaaaay too much money.

 

run.

 

POS.
Could be just the pictures but the bed's paint doesn't match the cab and he is absolutely bs'ing you about the CEL.

You'll find better

 

Thanks for the help guys

 

He knows what is wrong and the cost to properly repair it exceeds what he is willing to spend so he is dumping it.

 

bad deal!

 

$3k. Shit looks like it needs a new frame from rust. Brakes are prolly shitfaded from the drunkso sport events.

 

Concerning the dome light & CEL...either he is straight up stupid or he's lying.

Concerning the wreck....it might just be the picture, but as others have already said, that frame looks bent to shit. It looks like the bumper mounting structure is pretty damaged.

Concerning the brakes....on a stock truck they should work pretty damn well. If they are spongey, something is wrong.

 

My truck was in an accident before I bought it. I didn't care. BUT it had been 100% fixed when I bought it and I was able to inspect the work.

This asshole didn't fix it and not speaking English is a big tip off. I would run pretty far away from this truck.

I'm willing to bet money your insurance would refuse to ensure it.

 

^ This.

And there is a high probability that he speaks much better English than he lets on. But keeping you confused by unclear answers is easier this way.

Things like this can be a great deal for folks with the ability to diagnose the issues (pre purchase) and fix them themselves.

For those who can't, not so much.